Shapovalov beats Nadal
MONTREAL Even Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov was amazed he had beaten tennis superstar Rafael Nadal.
The 18-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ont. shocked himself, the crowd that roared with every point he scored, and the tennis world with his 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory over top-seeded Nadal in the third round of the Rogers Cup on Thursday night at a sold out Uniprix Stadium.
Shapovalov dropped to the ground and covered his face in joy and surprise as the cheers reached deafening levels after the match point fell, completing his comeback from a 3-0 deficit in the third-set tiebreaker.
“It’s what I dreamed of all my life growing up, playing guys like Rafa (Nadal), Roger (Federer), Andy (Murray),” said Shapovalov. “You know, my dream came true today.”
The victory put him into a quarter-final Friday against France’s Adrian Mannarino, who beat Hyeon Chung 6-3,6-3.
It was one of the biggest wins in Canadian tennis history and it came at the tournament that some still call the Canadian Open.
Shapovalov became the youngest player to reach the tournament’s quarter-finals since Bjorn Borg in 1974.
He also became the youngest quarter-finalist at a Masters Series tournament ever and is the youngest to beat a player ranked in the top two in the world since Nadal beat Federer in 2004 in Miami.
Shapovalov will reach his goal of moving into the top 100 in the world in a week that saw him save four match points in a first round win over Rogerio Dutra Silva, then beat 2009 U.S. Open winner Juan Martin Del Potro in the second round before toppling Nadal.
“I’m very thankful that I’m in this position,” said Shapovalov, who had hockey great Wayne Gretzky and Olympic swimming star Penny Oleksiak cheering for him from the seats. “If I didn’t save those four match points in the first round, there wouldn’t even be a chance to play Juan Martin or Rafa.”